


Welcome To The Family

by SaraJaye



Series: LeoNiles Week 2018 [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Anxiety, Cheerful Elise, Hugs, LeoNiles Week 2018, M/M, Niles has shit self-esteem, Pre-Relationship, Protective Camilla, meeting the siblings, pre-game, protective Xander
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-23
Updated: 2018-08-23
Packaged: 2019-07-01 16:26:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15777768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaraJaye/pseuds/SaraJaye
Summary: Niles isn't sure he's ready to meet Lord Leo's family, but Lord Leo insists it will be fine. And he trusts Lord Leo, so he won't object.





	Welcome To The Family

**Author's Note:**

> day 1 - meeting

"I want you to meet my family." The words sent a chill down his spine; Niles knew the crown prince and the eldest princess's reputations all too well. Lord Xander swore by his father's rule, and Lady Camilla was all too happy to break the skull of anyone who so much as _looked_ at her siblings wrong. Frankly, it was already a miracle that King Garon himself had accepted Niles as Leo's choice for a retainer, much less that he didn't know Niles was part of the gang trying to _rob_ the place.

"You're sure about this?" Leo smiled, resting a hand on his shoulder. He'd heard Lord Leo was stingy with his affections, much less physical signs, yet he'd touched Niles's shoulder or hand or back at least...twenty? Thirty, maybe even fifty times since that night?

 _He feels sorry for me. Or maybe he's just patting me down, just cause he made me a retainer doesn't mean he trusts me._ But Leo's smile didn't fade, and his hand didn't move.

"They'll love you, I promise. Especially Elise, she's always excited about making new friends." Right, Niles thought, the other princess of Nohr. He'd heard she was a sweet little thing, almost sickeningly so, but little girls could turn on people in a heartbeat if they didn't like them.

But Lord Leo insisted everything would be fine, and he trusted Lord Leo. He swallowed the last of his worried and objections, tried to make Lord Xander's old hand-me-downs look presentable, and allowed himself to be led to the parlor.

 

The only one smiling was little Princess Elise, looking like a fancy doll with her lacy dress and her giant pigtails. Lord Xander gave Niles a long and critical look, while Lady Camilla seemed quiet and concerned.

Niles already wished he'd objected harder, or begged for more time to get used to the idea. But he couldn't back out, and he didn't want Lord Leo to think him weak.

"Hi."

"You must be Niles," Lord Xander spoke up. "Leo has told us so much about you already. It seems you've really made an impression on him over the last few days."

"It's more the other way around, I think," Niles said. "I'm sure he's told you exactly how we met." Lord Xander nodded, frowning for a moment.

"Yes, he has. I don't think I need to tell you how lucky you are, of course."

"As long as you don't betray my dear brother, I don't think we'll have a problem," Lady Camilla added, smiling almost coldly. "He doesn't trust easily, and you owe him for both sparing your life and for placing his faith in you." Lord Leo coughed nervously, turning a bit red and glaring slightly.

"Sister, please, Niles hardly owes me anything," he said. "Had I feared he would go back on the oaths he swore to me that night, I'd have sent him to the gallows immediately. Furthermore, I'm hardly a child, there is no need to protect me."

"Yeah!" Princess Elise finally spoke up. "He's a little scruffy-looking, but I'm glad Leo finally has a friend! He's always hiding somewhere with his books, and Sir Niles is really nice to him!" She bounded forward, giving a small curtsy and offering her hand. "I'm glad to meet you, Sir Niles! Thanks for making my brother happy!" Niles could only stare dumbly at her before offering his hand, shaking stiffly, while Lord Leo turned even redder as he glanced between the two of them.

"He's merely my retainer, Elise," Lord Leo protested, looking guilty a second after. "That is-"

"It's fine, milord. Your brother's right, Princess," Niles said. Lord Leo was nice enough to spare his life, give him a place to live, let him wear his brother's old clothes; that was more than Niles had ever gotten from anyone else he'd ever known. Even the priest who found him bleeding outside the church had only patched up his wounds before sending him back out into the streets.

_Even if he never sees me as more than a servant, he still treats me more like a person than anyone else ever did._

"Well...I hope you can be good friends soon! Leo needs one!" the little princess said cheerfully. This turned Lady Camilla's careful gaze into a smile, and even Lord Xander seemed to soften up.

"She's right," he said. "Leo is correct, and he is the smartest of us four. He would know immediately if you had planned to betray him, and if he trusts you, then so should we."

"I apologize for our behavior," Lady Camilla added. "Niles, we welcome you to Castle Krackenburg, and to our family." And Niles actually felt his ears flush. Even if he'd been dreading the icy treatment he'd at least expected it. This was something entirely out of left field.

"Thanks," he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. Princess Elise _hugged_ him then, and he probably would have passed out if Lord Leo hadn't gently pulled her off him.

_Family._

He almost wanted to believe in this, that he and Lord Leo _could_ be friends, that these royals actually liked him and approved of him. He almost _did_ , and that scared him.

So did the warm, cozy feeling that settled over him when he fell asleep later that night.


End file.
